In the present assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 6,743,196, incorporated herein by reference, devices and methods are disclosed for partially or completely occluding the aorta temporarily to augment cerebral perfusion. As understood herein, a device that is positioned retrograde to blood flow in the aorta faces high fluid pressure against one or more of its operative components, presenting challenges that otherwise would not be presented were the device to be located in a vessel of less harsh fluid flow dynamics.